Beyond the Stars 2
by RagingContent
Summary: [REWRITE, NOT A SEQUEL] The wind in their whiskers seems different than usual, the starlight traces different patterns onto their pelts. In their new Clans, will they be able to fight to get back to their normal lives - without even knowing who they were before?
1. Chapter 1: WindClan

**Hello, everyone and welcome to Beyond the Stars, 2.0!**

**Yes, this is a remake. The last one was rather badly planned and of the original seven characters, there were only four that I truly watched because I liked them. So, as my inspiration for the last story died down, I decided to revive it, in the form of a remake!**

**Have fun with this ;)**

* * *

><p>Though the night was frigidly cold, no wind ruffled the dark tom's fur as he glanced around. His dark brown fur lifted as he peered through the dark fog, trying to see if anyone was approaching. The muscles on his shoulders curved smoothly in the half-light, though the cat knew that this couldn't be real.<p>

But that didn't stop him from snapping his amber gaze up when he heard voices.

"... Nobody will be spying on us?" A masculine voice asked, growling slightly.

A lighter voice answered, also growling, "Don't worry, Mintscar. The hollow logs are always deserted at this hour - all the weakling Clan cats have gone back to their nests. If there _are _some hanging around, we'll show them the meaning of pain."

That was all the cat needed to hear. Rushing to the edge of the clearing, he hoisted himself into one of the dark-colored trees that loomed above. He wasn't used to climbing trees, but he knew, sure as StarClan, that these cats would kill him if they got the chance. Wincing as his legs ached, he clawed his way up to the lowest branch and stopped there, panting.

The other cats were close - their pawsteps seemed to echo as they entered the clearing. At least five cats, although the hidden intruder couldn't tell - the air around him was too foggy for him to see clearly. Although he couldn't tell how many cats there were, it was to his advantage as he hid.

"Where are the others?" The voice, now named as Mintscar's, asked.

The loud sound of a _smack_ made the intruding tom wince. A she-cat's voice answered, "Don't be stupid. All of our cats are practically itching to take StarClan's cats down, once and for all. If they want to join us, without being insubordinate, they _have _to come."

"Indeed, Mapleshade," A third voice responded. "Though I was a leader in my past nine lives, I would never ask for the daunting task of preparing this fight. Feel free to do what you wish."

"Are you a scaredy-mouse? Don't think I'll forget that you said that, even if you _were_ a leader." Mapleshade shot back, drawing out the _were._

"Are we really infighting like this?" A fourth voice raised above the others. "Leave the fighting for the Clan cats, Mapleshade."

"_What?_" Mapleshade shrieked indignantly. "You know, Crimsonear, I could kill you right now-"

"I don't doubt it," Crimsonear replied, then turned her attention, not missing a beat: "And Vixenstar, even if you were our leader, I doubt you would have the mental strength to plan this momentous a fight. Don't forget, I was your deputy, and _I _was the one to plan out all of our battles and patrols. You just sat stuffing your face in the camp."

Stunned silence followed Crimsonear's words - obviously, these cats weren't used to such vile words from a cat such as themselves. A few moments passed before Mintscar snorted in amusement and meowed, "Looks like the kit's finally grown claws! I don't envy you right now, Crimsonear."

Mapleshade snarled in disapproval, instead turning her attention to the forest around them. "Where are the others? I saw quite a lot of them nearby-"

"Race you to the hollow logs, Redwillow!" A cat meowed nearby. Paws pounded the ground as two cats ran into the clearing, barely breathing hard as both raced to the hollow, stunted tree in the middle of the clearing.

A tom's voice shouted defiantly, "I win!"

"Well, that wasn't fair!" A feminine voice protested. "I'm not used to running fast, Redwillow!"

Redwillow growled. "Shimmersong, you were the once who wanted to race! Don't try to back out of it, now that you've lost!"

"Quit fighting! Dear Tigerstar, do you want to be dead before you even first meet our enemies?" Crimsonear yowled in exasperation.

"That's impossible, Crimsonear," Mapleshade protested. "We'll meet our enemies sooner than you realize."

Crimsonear growled as Redwillow asked, "How do you know, Mapleshade?"

"Because one of them is spying on us right now."

A yowl rang in the intruder's ears as the world faded. The last thing he saw was himself, falling from the tree...

* * *

><p>"Come on, Skykit, wake up! You've been asleep for nearly the whole day!"<p>

The tom yowled, scrambling to his paws as his littermate's voice mixed with the yowl from his dreams. Still unused to his new form, Skykit lost his balance twice before finally deciding to reply to his brother.

Glancing up sheepishly, he meowed a quick "hey" to Blackkit, his brother.

"Why're you so tired?" Blackkit asked, shaking out his dark brown-and-black tabby fur. He didn't let Skykit reply as he continued, "We're all playing a game outside, but when you're not there, it's not fun."

Skykit's ears pricked up; he didn't think he was _that_ popular. "Really?"

"Yeah! Thornkit and Webkit are boreder, and Sootkit keeps bugging me to wake you up." Blackkit pricked his ears as he asked, "You're coming, right? Are you sick? Will you have to eat those wierd-smelling plants that Kestrelflight collects?"

"I'm _fine!_" Skykit insisted, finally climbing to his paws.

Doubt and concern flashed in Blackkit's eyes, but he didn't say any more as he turned, walking out of then den and into the main part of camp.

_Well, you have a right to feel concerned, _Skykit thought. _After all, I'm not supposed to be here, am I?_

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>WindClan Allegiances<strong>  
><em>

** Leader: **Whitestar, a small white she-cat

**Deputy:**Sedgewhisker, a light brown tabby she-cat

**Medicine Cat:** Kestrelflight, a mottled gray tom

**Warriors**

Nightcloud, a jet-black she-cat

_Apprentice: Hootpaw_

Weaselfur, a ginger tom with white paws

Harespring, a brown-and-white tom

Leaftail, a dark brown tabby tom

_Apprentice, Oatpaw_

Emberfoot, a gray tom with two darker paws

Swallowtail, a dark gray she-cat

Sunstrike, a tortoiseshell she-cat with a white mark on her forehead

Boulderfur, a large gray tom

Furzepelt, a gray-and-white she-cat

_Apprentice: Featherpaw_

Whiskernose, a light gray tom

Crouchfoot, a ginger tom

Larkwing, a pale gray tabby she-cat

**Apprentices**

Featherpaw, a gray tabby she-cat

Hootpaw, a dark gray tom

Oatpaw, a pale brown tabby tom

**Queens**

Heathertail, a pale brown tabby she-cat

_Nursing Breezepelt's three kits_

Gorsetail, a very pale gray-and-white she-cat

_Nursing Emberfoot's two kits_

**Elders**

Ashfoot, a gray she-cat

Crowfeather, a very dark gray tom

* * *

><p><strong>Did you all enjoy the first chapterprologue of my story? If you did, feel free to review :3**

**-RC**


	2. Chapter 2: RiverClan

**And voilà! Chapter two!**

**This took longer than to write than I wanted it to, partially because I'm working on a Haunted one-shot (and a bigger Haunted story, too). Sorry about that! I'll try to have the next chapter up as soon as possible.**

**In the meantime... RiverClan!**

* * *

><p>"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The red-brown tom whispered, peeking his head out of the reeds. Though his dark fur blended into the shadows of the tall, spindly plants, it stood out against the soft pale brown of the shore, so he ducked back inside again.<p>

"Of course it is!" The darker brown tom beside him answered, lifting his head to scent the air.

"I mean," The red-brown tom pressed, "The ShadowClan border? You know nobody's allowed to go over that, never mind the fact that we're not allowed out of camp anyway!"

"Shhhhh!" The darker tom whispered. "Do you _want_ to get caught?"

The red-brown tom snorted. "Actually, I kinda do! I'm not going over the border. Haven't the elders told you how brutal ShadowClan is towards the other Clans, Fluffykit?"

"What, the stories Pouncepelt tells?" Fluffykit twitched his ear. "The stories they tell are just kit-fodder. There's no way ShadowClan would hurt kits, Deadkit!"

"But you don't know that!" Unsheathing his claws reflexively, Deadkit struggled against the urge to start shouting at his brother. "Why can't we go back to camp? I bet Graykit will be missing us by now, never mind how Petalfur feels about us being missing!"

"It's not Graykit's fault that he twisted his paw yesterday! And, if you want to bring the image of Petalfur to my head, imagine how proud she'll be when we say we patrolled the ShadowClan border when we weren't even apprentices yet!"

"You are impossible!" Deadkit huffed, turning away from his darker-furred brother. "I'm heading back to camp."

Fluffykit snorted in amusment and disgust. "Scaredy-mouse! You're afraid, aren't you?"

A new voice broke into their argument: "Deadkit isn't afraid of anything!"

Smaller, light pawsteps padded up to them, and both brothers turned to see a tiny, golden-furred tom-kit standing there, his green eyes bright and excited. Glancing between both of the others, he asked, "It's true! I've never seen him been scared of anything, ever!"

Deadkit was truly struck inside by how much his foster brother trusted him, but he had to ask, "What are you doing here, Graykit? You injured your leg!"

Graykit started bouncing around a bit, but Deadkit could see that the gold kit was favoring his twisted paw. "There was no way you were leaving me in camp! I wanna explore, too!"

"Are you sure you wanna come? We're going to another Clan's territory, it's gonna be dangerous." Fluffykit meowed, obviously trying to spook the smaller kit out of going with them. However, it wouldn't work.

Graykit shook his head. "We're not gonna let you go alone! Right, Deadkit?"

With a resigned sigh, I shook my head. Now I _couldn't_ go back to camp, not when I had two other cats to look after.

* * *

><p>"There it is, guys... The ShadowClan border!" Fluffykit squeaked, dashing ahead, practically flying in his excitement.<p>

Graykit and Deadkit examined the land around them: the reeds that slowly intermixed into pine trees; the horrible stench of ShadowClan's border marks; and most of all, the stink of the Thunderpath that ran in front of them, blocking them from the night Clan's territory.

"This is all he wanted to see?" Graykit asked, looking confused. "Don't look like much..."

Fluffykit rounded on the smaller kit. "This is exciting! We're about to cross onto ShadowClan land, something even the _warriors _aren't brave enough to do! Are you two going to back out now, or will you follow me?"

Without another word, the long-furred kit launched himself over the Thunderpath, paws thudding on the slick black stone, before safely landing in the pine needles on the other side.

"Deadkit," The other kit whispered. "This isn't a good idea, is it...?"

Without hesitation, the reddish-furred tom shook his head. "No, of course not. But it's a worse idea to let Fluffykit go into another Clan's territory, with no idea if there's anything living there that will kill him, whether it's cats or not. As bad as it is, we have to follow him."

With a soft sigh through his nose, Deadkit calmly hopped across the Thunderpath, taking shelter in the shadows below the pines as he turned to look at the golden kit again.

But Graykit was still on the other side of the highway, glancing at Deadkit as he sized up the situation.

"Come on, Graykit!" Deadkit called, trying to keep his voice low. If ShadowClan found out that they were here...

With a final, resigned twitch of his ears, the third kit tiptoed onto the Thunderpath, obviously doubting the safety of his decision. He constantly watched around him, glancing down the black stone to see if any monsters were coming.

Deadkit turned away, quickly looking around to see if he could find Fluffykit. Unfortunately, the long-furred tom was nowhere to be seen-

"_Hey, what's this? A RiverClan kit, on _our _territory?_"

The reddish-pelted tom winced as he heard the jeering meow, but it hadn't been directed at him. Instead, it came from farther into the pine-filled forest.

"Ferretnose, don't make fun of the kit!" A she-cat's voice interjected.

The next meow was a tom's, but higher-pitched than the first's: "But he's not supposed to be out of camp, is he, Applefur?"

A short silence, then, "... No, of course not. We need to bring him back."

"But what about my friends?" Fluffykit's mew cut in.

"More RiverClan kits?" A fourth meow sighed. "What did you do, plan your own spy patrol? You're breaking the warrior code, you know. Mistystar isn't one to take that lightly."

Deadkit turned back to Graykit. The golden kit was halfway across the Thunderpath, but he was staring down the path, frozen in shock.

A monster was headed straight towards him.

"_Graykit!_" Deadkit screeched, running back onto the Thunderpath and barreling into his foster brother. Graykit snapped to his senses as Deadkit rammed into him, and he ran to the RiverClan side, with the reddish kit on his heels.

Both flopped onto the ground, panting, and stayed there long after the monster had passed by. The ShadowClan patrol walked up to them, with Fluffykit being carried by his scruff by a light-furred ShadowClan tom.

The patrol's leader, a mottled brown she-cat, turned to look at all three tom-kits. "Are you proud of what you've done today? One of you nearly _died_ because of your kit-brained decision to come onto our territory!"

Deadkit, shocked into silence by the she-cat's claims and Graykit's near-death, just hung his head in shame. However, he itched to tell the truth.

_It wasn't my fault! It was Fluffykit's idea!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>RiverClan's Allegiances<em>**

**Leader: **Mistystar, a bluish-gray she-cat

**Deputy: **Reedwhisker, a black tom

_Apprentice: Lizardpaw_

**Medicine Cat: **Willowshine, a gray tabby she-cat

**Warriors**

Mintfur, a light gray tabby tom

Icewing, a white she-cat

Pebblefoot, a mottled gray tom

Mallownose, a light brown tabby tom

_Apprentice: Perchpaw_

Robinwing, a tortoiseshell-and-white tom

Grasspelt, a light brown tom

Hollowflight, a dark brown tabby tom

Troutstream, a pale gray tabby she-cat

_Apprentice: Puffpaw_

Mossyfoot, a brown-and-white she-cat

Rushtail, a light brown tabby tom

Lakeheart, a gray tabby she-cat

Heronwing, a dark gray-and-black tom

**Apprentices**

Perchpaw, a gray-and-white she-cat

Lizardpaw, a light brown tom

Puffpaw, a short-furred white she-cat with a fluffy tail

**Queens**

Petalfur, a gray-and-white she-cat

_Mother to Hollowflight's two kits, and foster mother to Graymist and Mallownose's one kit_

**Elders**

Pouncetail, a ginger-and-white tom

Mothwing, a gold dappled she-cat


	3. Chapter 3: ThunderClan

**More chapters :)**

**I'm sorry for the infrequent updates, but I'm studying for my exams next week. Yeah, our exams are after Christmas. Stupidest system ever.**

* * *

><p>Warm lemon-y sunshine shone brightly into the stone hollow, heating the air at the bottom of the chasm. Cats bathed in what sunshine patches were left unclaimed, and they welcomed the newleaf with <em>mostly <em>bright spirits. Nobody could forget the greencough that had rampaged through the Clan during leaf-bare, killing several cats and nearly claiming many more. Jayfeather and Leafpool had gone through the stores of any useful herb that they had had, but the Clan was safe for another season-cycle.

When Bramblestar looked down at the camp, what he saw most was what he couldn't see - the missing cats, the ones who now ran with StarClan. Brackenfur, Whitewing, Graystripe and Millie, and all of the others who were missing. Even tiny Dewkit hadn't been spared, but he had luckily been the only young cat to be killed.

The dark tabby leader jumped as he heard a meow beside him. "It isn't your fault, you know. There was nothing you could have done to save them."

Bramblestar swung his heard around to see who had startled him so badly, but he relaxed when he saw his medicine cat. "Jayfeather. You scared me, you know."

"Not smart?" Jayfeather asked jokingly, then blinked his blind blue eyes and turned away.

The leader twitched his whiskers in a laugh. "Well, I guess StarClan blessed us. We didn't lose the majority of our young cats."

"Or our queens." Jayfeather nodded.

Looking out over the camp, Bramblestar could see shapes outside the nursery - the gray pelt of Cinderheart, and the four kits that were in the nursery. Though not all of them were her own kits (Maplekit and Moonkit were Blossomfall's litter), the gray queen had readily taken on the position as queen of the nursery. And besides, both litters were born on the same day, so Cinderheart probably couldn't help but feel protective towards the kits, especially those that weren't her own.

* * *

><p>"I call leader!" Maplekit squeaked, climbing on top of the large stone that he and his denmates used when they played.<p>

"Hey, you were leader last time!" Sparkkit called, jumping up to knock his denmate off.

"Was not!"

Ashkit padded to the base of the stone, her gray fur blending with the rock. "You kinda were, Maplekit... I'll be deputy, but you can't be leader again."

Maplekit hopped off of the kit-rock. "Not fair," he grumbled, but his whisking tail and still-loud demeanor told the others that he wasn't really angry.

"Sparkkit, can I be leader this time?" Moonkit said to the darker tortoiseshell, hopping up and down in excitement. "It's been, like, _forever_ since I was leader! Please?"

The black-and-ginger kit sighed, watching the other kit ask him. "Well, I guess. But I'll be Sparkstar next time!"

"Oh, yay!" The black-and-white kit charged around in his excitement, tumbling to the ground and accidentally knocking into Cinderheart. The gray she-cat looked slightly annoyed as she looked away from the prey she was sharing with Poppyfrost.

"Oh! Uh... Sorry, Cinderheart!"

The gray queen shook her head, though Maplekit knew she could never be angry with the kits that she'd helped to raise. "You know, Clan leaders are supposed to be calm and dignified. Maybe Sparkkit should take your place...?"

"Oh, no! No- Uh, I mean... Don't worry, Cinderheart! I can be a great leader!" Moonkit stammered, trying his best to sound respected but failing miserably.

"Then show me," She purred. "I'd love to see how well you can lead KitClan."

"But we'll be 'paws soon, right?" Maplekit interjected. "Then we'll be a step closer to being leader of ThunderClan!"

Worry flashed over Cinderheart's face, but it was gone so quickly that Maplekit couldn't be sure. "I guess so. Go play, little kits, I need some time to talk with Poppyfrost."

"Okay!" Ashkit meowed. "Come on, let's try and find some enemies to fight!"

As they charged off, Maplekit heard Cinderheart call out one last piece of advice: "Don't disturb Cherrypaw and Molepaw! They're going to be heading out on their warrior assessment soon, so they don't need you there to badger them!"

Moonkit called back, "Don't worry, we won't!"

* * *

><p>"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!"<p>

Maplekit's gaze flashed toward the den's entrance as he heard Bramblestar's summons. The kits had decided to visit the elders' den after their game, and Dustpelt had been in the middle of telling a story when the leader had called.

"Well, I guess it'll be Cherrypaw and Molepaw's apprentice ceremony," Sandstorm said, uncurling from her nest with a yawn.

"Ooh, can we come?" Sparkkit asked, his eyes glittering in excitement.

"Well, it'll be up for Cinderheart and Blossomfall to decide. But you won't want to disturb the ceremony." Spiderleg meowed, already at the entrance of the den. Youngest of his denmates, Spiderleg was also the one who had the most energy, always first to Clan meetings and always the one to tell Jayfeather about any coughs in the den.

"We can do that," Ashkit meowed.

Sandstorm and Dustpelt exited the den, stepping into the cool twilight of the dusky camp. "Then come on, we'll sit together."

A dark cloud of kits followed them out of the den, with Spiderleg leaving the den last, making sure the kits were being calm. So far, Maplekit was unnerved by the silence between them - something that seemed as foreign as WindClan's scent - but they were all keeping their end of the deal. There was barely a peep from any of them, except for an embarrassed squawk as Moonkit had managed to trip on a stone.

As they sat at the edge of the gathered cats, Maplekit could see that all of the Clan was there. Berrynose and Poppyfrost, who were parents to the soon-to-be-warriors, were sitting near the front, looking extremely proud. Blossomfall, Daisy and Briarlight were sitting near them, with Leafpool slipping out of the den to join them. Cinderheart sat down next to Jayfeather and Lionblaze.

Bramblestar paced on the Highledge until he was sure that everyone was there, and then he began.

"I, Bramblestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look over these two apprentices." The leader meowed. This being his first warrior ceremony he was probably trying hard to remember the right words. "They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

Molepaw was already padding to the front of the gathered cats, with Cherrypaw just behind him. Both pelts were groomed and sleek.

"Cherrypaw and Molepaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

His meow nearly humming with determination, Molepaw replied, "I do."

"I do," Cherrypaw echoed. Her paws kneaded the ground anxiously.

Maplekit held his breath, his pelt pricking with envy. It barely seemed fair - he was stuck in camp for practically _forever_, meanwhile Cherrypaw and Molepaw were being made warriors! It didn't even seem smart - what was wrong with training kits early?

Bramblestar, obviously, didn't notice Maplekit's silent cry. "Then by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior names." He jumped down from the Highledge, seeming smaller now that he was among his Clanmates.

"Molepaw, from this moment on you shall be known as Molenose." Molenose looked immensely proud, and he caught his mentor Rosepetal looking prideful as well. "StarClan honors your strength and courage in battle, and I welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

_And he's a snob, _Maplekit thought, watching the new warrior. _Every time he catches a piece of prey, he has to brag about it from sunup to sunhigh!_

"Cherrypaw, from this moment, you shall be known as..." Bramblestar paused, possibly trying to think of a good name. "Cherryfur. The Clan honors your kindness and hunting skill, and I am proud to welcome you as a full member of ThunderClan.

Maplekit was still thinking rebellious thoughts, but he was kind-hearted enough to join the chant of, "Molenose! Cherryfur! Molenose! Cherryfur!"

That is, until he caught Jayfeather's stare. The medicine cat was staring at him with such intensity that Maplekit couldn't believe that he couldn't see. Could Jayfeather see him, and if so - why?

* * *

><p><strong><em>ThunderClan Allegiances<em>**

**Leader: **Bramblestar, a dark brown tabby tom

**Deputy: **Squirrelflight, a ginger she-cat

**Medicine Cats **

Leafpool, a light brown tabby she-cat

Jayfeather, a pale gray tabby tom

**Warriors**

Cloudtail, a long-furred white tom

Brightheart, a white she-cat with ginger patches

Birchfall, a light brown tabby tom

_Apprentice: Lilypaw_

Berrynose, a cream-colored tom

Hazeltail, a gray-and-white she-cat

_Apprentice: Snowpaw_

Mousewhisker, a gray-and-white tom

Poppyfrost, a tortoiseshell she-cat

Lionblaze, a golden tabby tom

_Apprentice: Amberpaw_

Icecloud, a white she-cat

Toadstep, a black-and-white tom

Rosepetal, a dark cream she-cat

Briarlight, a dark brown she-cat

Bumblestripe, a very pale gray tom with black stripes

_Apprentice: Seedpaw_

Ivypool, a pale gray-and-white tabby she-cat

Molenose, a cream-and-brown tom

Cherryfur, a ginger she-cat

**Apprentices**

Snowpaw, a white tom

Amberpaw, a gray she-cat with white markings

Lilypaw, a dark brown tabby she-cat

Seedpaw, a very pale ginger she-cat

**Queens**

Daisy, a cream-furred she-cat

Cinderheart, a gray tabby she-cat

_Mother to Lionblaze's two kits_

Blossomfall, a tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

_Mother to Toadstep's two kits_

Dovewing, a pale gray she-cat

_Expecting Bumblestripe's kits_

**Elders**

Sandstorm, a pale ginger she-cat

Dustpelt, a dark brown tabby tom

Spiderleg, a long-legged black tom with a brown chest

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, everyone... *yawns* It's nearly midnight here, I have to sleep. Sorry if it seemed rushed, but I'm tired and have an SS quiz tomorrow.<strong>

**I'll try to upload a chapter next week!**

**Bluepaw: Review, everyone! It makes Writer so much happier!**

**See you all later!**

**-RC**


	4. Chapter 4: ShadowClan

**Just when I thought Writer's Block couldn't get worse... It's been a month. A whole MONTH!**

**(But on the other hand, my birthday was this last week, so yay :D )**

* * *

><p>"All cats old enough to catch their own prey, gather to hear my words!"<p>

Late-afternoon sunlight was pouring into the ShadowClan camp as the leader's summons rang out. The cats sitting in the clearing, who had expected a meeting, set aside their fresh-kill to sit around the Highbranch, while the less-prepared cats padded out of their dens. At the entrance to the camp, there was a ruckus as Snowbird's hunting patrol ran into camp.

But inside the nursery, all was quiet, except for the excited squeaks of one kit.

"I'm gonna be an apprentice!" The tomkit squealed, jumping up and down in his excitement. "I'll be the best 'paw the lake has ever seen!"

His mother, Shrewfoot, purred as she watched her only kit. "You'll be the earliest up at dawn tomorrow, I bet."

"You can bet!" He whisked his short tail happily as he padded to the front of the den, peeking out into the clearing. Letting out a little mew of excitement, he glanced up as something obscured his view, and he was left facing the green eyes of his father.

"You ready to become a 'paw, Whitekit?"

"Yeah! I've been ready for this for six moons!"

Crowfrost swished his black-and-white tail, beckoning the tom-kit to follow him. The white tom followed, his paws skittering a bit in happiness and anxiety, as he padded across the clearing. Most of the eyes of the Clan were on him; at that exact moment, he could feel a bit of responsibility settle on his shoulders.

_But I won't worry about that right now. I'm closer to being a warrior!_

Rowanstar looked down on Whitekit, his green eyes glittering as he prepared to recite the words of the age-old ceremony. The kit, his mismatching eyes sparkling with unquenchable joy, picked his ears so he could hear every word.

"Today, I have called the Clan together for one of my most important duties as leader - the naming of our new apprentice! As this kit has reached six moons, I will grant him his apprentice name and mentor.

"Whitekit, step forward."

The white kit's urge was to jump for joy, but he luckily knew better. Instead, he stepped forward calmly, like the other apprentice ceremonies he'd deen in his short lifetime, waiting for his mentor to be announced.

"From this moment onward, this cat will be known as-" _Whitepaw! _"Whitepaw. May StarClan guide you in your journey to become a warrior.

_Who's my mentor going to be? _Whitepaw thought nervously. _I hope it's Smokefoot, but I wouldn't mind Snowbird or Toadfoot, either-_

"Your mentor shall be Scorchfur." Rowanstar continued, and all heads turned to face the dark gray tom as he padded to the front of the crowd. "Scorchfur, you are a cat of great courage and hunting ability. I trust that you can teach Whitepaw to be a great warrior."

"And I will, Rowanstar," Scorchfur announced quietly, before touching noses with the new apprentice.

"_Whitepaw! Whitepaw!_" The Clan chanted. "_Whitepaw!_"

The 'paw puffed up his chest in prideas the Clan pressed forward to congratulate him. Hearing a loud purr in his left ear, he turned to the mismatched eyes of Rainpaw. The dark-shaded, older 'paw was chanting the new name proudly.

The paler tom purred, nudging Rainpaw's shoulder. "Was it getting boring in the den without me?"

"Oh, Whitepaw," He mock-sighed, "It's been competely dull!"

"Hey, hey! I heard that!" The darkest-pelted of the older apprentices, Mistpaw, meows in my other ear. Her eyes are full of her normal, playful sarcasm, but she also held a certain pride in her stance. Turning back to Whitepaw, she meowed, "Congrats, Whitepaw! Glad I'll be training with you for a while!"

"I am, too," The white-pelted tom meowed back. Finally excusing himself from the meeting, and thus breaking up the tangle of cats in the clearing, he pads up to Scorchfur. "What will we do first?"

"Well... I think we should go around the borders of the territory first. So you can get a feel for how big it is, right?" Scorchfur replied. His eyes held a mix of eagerness, excitement, and looked a bit overhwhelmed as he looked at the new apprentice.

"Oh, okay! Let's go!"

* * *

><p><em>POV Change :3<em>

"Are you sure this is the right way?"

Shaking out her head, the smaller cat replies, "Yep! I know it's kinda dark, but we'll find them soon. I promise."

With a slight hesitation, the bigger she-cat replies, "... Okay, I trust you."

"I mean, we still have their scent trail... But... Oh, they're headed toward the lake!"

"The lake?" The bigger, white-furred she-cat bushes out her fur. "But that's where the wild cats live! Why are they going there?"

"To join them? Who knows. Those sisters have always acted weird." _But that's why we're following them... I want an excuse to go there. I already know that they're joining the Clans. _"Come on, we need to find them anyway!"

"Okay, okay, fine. Let's go!" The white-furred cat led the way, heading downhill.

Lifting her nose in the air, the dark tabby paused to check that the trail led this way, and indeed it did - She herself had told the two littermates to go this way. Luckily, her companion would realize that it was hopeless, soon enough-

"What's that stink?" The paler cat wrinkled her nose in disgust, a few tail-lengths down the slope. Dashing forward, the other stopped beside her. There was a rank, disgusting stench the air, along with the scent of pines and Clan cats.

"Uh, Blue..." The pale cat started. "Are... Are you sure it's still safe to be here?"

"No, of course not," The darker-furred she-cat frowned. The name of the scent, it was on the tip of her tongue (Both figuratively and literally), and she was so close to figuring it out, too.

Except... Except that a much easier way to distinguish it came out of the buses nearby. A pointed, black-and-white muzzle, hideous with the grime plastered onto its fur. It plodded toward them, lumbering clumsily to balance its large size.

"_What is that!_" The white cat asked, frozen in shock.

_I know that, it's a- _"Badger!" Blue yowled, her paws skittering on the ice-slick ground as she tried to pull herself up the slope. "Run!"

But her friend was still frozen, watching as the beast approached, her fur bushed up in terror.

_Come on! Move! _Blue ran back down the slope, quickly grabbing her friend's scruff and dragging her out of the way of the badger's first strike. "Run! I'll distract it! Just get back to the city!"

"B-but, Blue!" Now able to move, the she-cat backed away from the beast as it prepared another blow. "It'll kill you!"

"Not if I can get help," Blue meowed, a wild look in her green eyes. She calmly watched the badger, backing up a few pawsteps each time it came into range.

Now the white she-cat was stuttering her speech. "W-what, do you mean... The w-wildcats? They won't help you, they'll kill you!"

"Come on, Cupcake!" Blue snapped, turning to face her friend for an instant. "You trust me, right? Then run! Don't worry about me! I know much more about the wildcats than you do, right? I _know_ they won't kill me- _Woah!_" She ducked out of the way of another blow, backing up a tail-length.

"Are you sure?"

"_Trust me! _They won't go after me, especially when there's the badger to worry about!"

* * *

><p><em>POV Change ):3<em>

Whitepaw dashed after Scorchfur, glancing over his shoulder nervously as they toured the pine forest. According to his mentor, there was a badger that had made its set in this part of the forest, and Whitepaw still wasn't entirely sure that they wouldn't meet it head-on.

"Oh, great," Scorchfur meowed, scenting around the border markings. "Badger _and _rogues? At this rate, we'll have all four of the Clans over our borders and stealing our prey!"

"Shouldn't we chase the rogues out?" Whitepaw asked, his mew trembling a bit as he inhaled the rank odor of the intruders.

Scorchfur frowned. "No, it wouldn't be a good idea. Not right now."

"Why not?" The new apprentice asked. "Wouldn't it be a good idea to get them out, early as-"

"I would agree with you, Whitepaw," He snapped back. "Except that there's at least two rogues, along with the badger. No offense, but I can't depend on you to be able to fight well, because you've just be apprenticed. Basically, it would be a warrior and a half-trained 'paw against a badger and who-knows-how-many rogues, at the farthest spot from where the Medicine Cats would be!"

Whitepaw was shocked into silence. "O-oh. Okay, sorry."

"Not your fault," He sighed, shaking his head out a bit as he continued walking again. "I'm just tired."

"We can go back to camp, 'f you want," Whitepaw meowed, glancing over his shoulder. To be honest, the young cat expected to see the badger tromp out of the undergrowth at any time. Hopefully, back at camp, he'd be safe from -

A yowl echoed through the forest, from farther down the scent line.

"What was that?" Whitepaw hissed.

"A cat that met the badger," Scorchfur replied, meow trembling. "Whitepaw, I need you to run back to camp and get enough cats to beat it."

"I'm not leaving you to fight a _badger_ alone!" Whitepaw snapped indignantly. "I might not have any training, but I can help!"

"But I _won't _fight the badger," The mentor hissed, as if talking to a kit. "I'll just scout out where it is, make sure that whoever-that-was is okay. I'm not mouse-brained enough to take on a _badger _single-pawed, if I was, I wouldn't be a mentor. Just _go_, Whitepaw!"

And the younger of the two sprinted off, his paws barely touching the ground as he flew toward camp. His paws scattering the fallen pine needles on the dirt, he leaped over a patch of mud as he headed toward where he hoped the camp would be. skirting around a patch of thorns, he gasped and crashed straight into Sparrowpaw as the older cat was hunting.

"Wha-who-Whitepaw?" He stammered, falling backwards, somehow unprepared. "What's wrong?"

"Th-there's a... Badger... On the border..." Whitepaw panted, his lungs burning from running the distance. "Are... Are any of your patrol-mates nearby?"

There was a rustling in the bushes to his right. "Right here," a familiar meow rang out, and both 'paws turned to see three cats stepping out of the brush: Applefur, Crowfrost, and Rainpaw. The gray-and-black apprentice, seeing the state of his friend, dropped the mouse he had caught and ran forward.

"I'm okay!" The white cat explained hurriedly. "Scorchfur and I heard a cat yowl, near the border, close to where the badger's den is!"

Crowfrost, dismayed, glanced at Applefur. "Do you think any of our clanmates would do that?"

"They might've been hunting and forgotten where they were?" The she-cat replied grimly. "Bury your fresh-kill, and we'll go!"

* * *

><p><em>Yet another POV change (Sick of them yet?) ):3<em>

She ran forward, past the scent markers, and into the territory of the night Clan. Ducking past the badger, she would've smirked as its paw flashed beside her head and not into it.

It roared, turning to face her again. While it was still turning, she saw an opportunity, and took it - leaping above the head of the badger, she twisted in midair, and landed straight onto its back. As it lumbered about, trying to knock her off, she had to use all of her ability to stay balanced. Falling off would _not _help.

A small glimmer of hope inside her, a little ray of hope, said that she might be able to hold it off until some ShadowClan cats came. Surely, they'd side with-

With a final, outraged roar, the beast managed to throw her off. It was practically spitting in rage (Do badger spit in rage?) as it tried to hit her.

"Yeah, yeah, you be like that," She taunted, backing up another few steps as it swung at her. It might have only been her imagination, but she thought she heard the thrumming of pawsteps nearby. She hoped so-

A yowl rang out at the edge of the clearing, and Blue turned to see a half-dozen of cats enter the clearing._ Finally, some help, at last!_

One of the bigger cats dived under the badger's belly, clawing at its belly. The second cat, a dark-color and white who was smaller than most of the others, jumped onto its back and clawed at its ears.

But then, Blue saw the second one's eyes.

Dear god, she knew those eyes. Maybe not personally, but

_Is... Is that-_

Claws flashed at the edge of her vision, and then-

Darkness.

* * *

><p><em><strong>ShadowClan<strong>_

**Leader: **Rowanstar, a ginger tom

**Deputy: **Smokefoot, a black tom

**Medicine Cat: **Littlecloud, an elderly brown tabby tom

_Apprentice: Blackfrost_

**Warriors**

Toadfoot, a dark brown tabby tom

Applefur, a mottled brown she-cat

_Apprentice: Sparrowpaw_

Crowfrost, a black-and-white tom

_Apprentice: Rainpaw_

Snowbird, a pure white she-cat

Kinkfur, a light brown tabby she-cat

Starlingwing, a ginger tom

Olivenose, a tortoiseshell she-cat

_Apprentice: Dewpaw_

Shrewfoot, a dark gray she-cat with darker paws

Owlclaw, a light brown tabby tom

Scorchfur, a dark gray tom

_Apprentice:_ _Whitepaw_

Tigerheart, a dark brown tabby tom

_Apprentice:_ _Mistpaw_

Ferretnose, a cream-and-gray tom

**Apprentices**

Dewpaw, a gray she-cat

Mistpaw, a spiky-furred gray she-cat

Sparrowpaw, a dusty brown tabby tom

Rainpaw, a dark gray tom with black and white markings

Whitepaw, a white tom with distinctive dark markings

**Queen**

Pinenose, a black she-cat

_Mother to Tigerheart's three kits_

**Elders**

Halfgaze, a small brown tom, blind in one eye

Ratscar, a brown tom with a long scar along his back

**Cats Outside the Clan**

Blue, a dark blue-gray tabby she-cat

Cupcake, a pure white she-cat, kittypet

* * *

><p><strong>How'd you all like the cliffhanger :)<strong>

**Again, I'm sorry it took so long, that's why it's so rushed... Please forgive me, my friends.**

**-RC**

**(P.S. There's a new forum on my profile... Guess it, if you dare :3 )**


End file.
